LibGuides: ACC Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Center: News

News Stories

To Shrink Learning Gap, This District Offers Classes Separated by Race
EVANSTON, Ill.— School leaders in this college town just north of Chicago have been battling a sizable academic achievement gap between Black, Latino and white students for decades. So a few years ago, the school district decided to try something new at the high school: classrooms voluntarily separated by race.
Sara Randazzo and Douglas Belkin The Wall Street Journal Nov. 26, 2023
Supreme Court rules in favor of Black Alabama voters in unexpected defense of Voting Rights Act
The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a surprising 5-4 ruling in favor of Black voters in a congressional redistricting case from Alabama, with two conservative justices joining liberals in rejecting a Republican-led effort to weaken a landmark voting rights law.
Mark Sherman AP News June 8, 2023
Why do so many Black women die in pregnancy? One reason: Doctors don't take them seriously
Black babies are more likely to die as infants or be born prematurely in America. And Black women have the highest maternal mortality rate in the nation. From birth to death, generations of Black Americans have endured alarming health inequities fueled by structural racism.
Wong Maye-e AP News May 23, 2023
Black lawmaker who was expelled reinstated to Tennessee seat
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — One of the two Black Democrats who were expelled last week from the GOP-led Tennessee House was reinstated Monday after Nashville’s governing council voted to send him straight back to the Legislature.
JONATHAN MATTISE, TRAVIS LOLLER and KIMBERLEE KRUESI AP News April 11, 2023
Cleaner Air Helps Everyone. It Helps Black Communities a Lot.
A new study quantified the benefits of pollution reduction in terms of race and class.
Elena Shao The New York Times March 24, 2023
After Breonna Taylor death, feds find police discrimination
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department found Louisville police have engaged in a pattern of violating constitutional rights and discrimination against the Black community following an investigation prompted by the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor.
Dylan Lovan AP News March 8, 2023
Black history class revised by College Board amid criticism
The official curriculum for the course, released Wednesday by the College Board, downplays some components that had drawn criticism from DeSantis and other conservatives. Topics including Black Lives Matter, slavery reparations and queer life are not part of the exam. Instead, they are included only on a sample list states and school systems can choose from for student projects.
Cheyanne Mumphrey and Sharon Lurye AP News February 1, 2023
Tyre Nichols case revives calls for change in police culture
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — An unarmed Black man dies after a videotaped beating by police. The officers involved are fired. After a thorough review of the evidence, criminal charges are swiftly filed against the offending officers.
AARON MORRISON, CLAUDIA LAUER and ADRIAN SAINZ AP News Jan. 30, 2023
‘I Don’t Want to Die’: Fighting Maternal Mortality Among Black Women
A St. Louis doula program, part of a nonprofit that received funding in the $1.7 trillion federal budget bill, looks for solutions in a benefit largely associated with affluent white women.
Erica L. Green The New York TImes Jan. 19, 2023
L.A. County to Pay $20 Million for Land Once Seized From Black Family
California officials seized a beachfront property from Willa and Charles Bruce in 1924. Los Angeles County returned it to their great-grandsons last year. Now they’re selling it back.
Mike Ives The New York Times Jan. 11, 2023
Harvard Museum Will Return Hundreds of Native American Hair Samples
The Peabody Museum apologized for its “complicity in the objectification of Native peoples” by holding hair samples taken from Indigenous children at government boarding schools in the 1930s.
Christine Chung The New York Times Nov. 10, 2022
Midterms full of firsts for female, Black, LGBTQ candidates
Across the country, women, LGBTQ and Black candidates broke barriers Tuesday as part of a new generation of politicians elected to governor’s offices and seats in Congress.
ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON AP News November 9. 2022
Race Question in Supreme Court Adoption Case Unnerves Tribes
The issue is whether a federal law that seeks to place Native American foster children in Native American homes is constitutional. The case could turn on whether the justices see tribes as racial groups or sovereign nations.
Jan Hoffman New York Times Nov. 7, 2022
Echoes of Latin American Racism Reverberate in the U.S.
Disparaging remarks about Oaxacans from the Los Angeles City Council president shocked a city that prides itself on tolerance. But they highlighted a history of racism within the Latino community.
Miriam Jordan The New York Times Oct. 14, 2022
Black Farmers Skeptical About Loan Aid After Discrimination
New federal funding is aimed at rectifying decades of bias by USDA’s farm-lending programs.
Kristina Peterson The Wall Street Journal Sept. 25, 2022
Watering while Black: anatomy of a pastor’s Alabama arrest
CHILDERSBURG, Ala. (AP) — Michael Jennings wasn’t breaking any laws or doing anything that was obviously suspicious; the Black minister was simply watering the flowers of a neighbor who was out of town.
JAY REEVES AP News Sept. 1, 2022
Home Appraised With a Black Owner: $472,000. With a White Owner: $750,000.
Nathan Connolly and his wife, Shani Mott, say an appraisal company undervalued their home based on their race. The couple has filed a lawsuit in Maryland.
Debra Kamin The New York Times Aug. 25, 2022
Black and Hispanic Employees Often Get Stuck at the Lowest Rung of the Workplace
A new comprehensive survey by McKinsey suggests that companies’ diversity efforts have largely missed the employees who stand to gain the most from them. For all of the effort companies have poured into hiring and advancing people of color, those moves rarely benefit the biggest—and most diverse—pool of workers they employ: the millions of low-wage workers in America’s stores, warehouses, plants and other front-line workplaces.
Ray A. Smith The wall Street Journal July 31, 2022
In Rural America, Covid Hits Black and Hispanic People Hardest
At the peak of the Omicron wave, Covid killed Black Americans in rural areas at a rate roughly 34 percent higher than it did white people.
Benjamin Mueller The New York Times July 28, 2022
Vatican says they’re gifts; Indigenous groups want them back
Indigenous groups from Canada, who were shown a few items in the collection when they traveled to the Vatican last spring to meet with Francis, question how some of the works were actually acquired and wonder what else may be in storage after decades of not being on public display.
NICOLE WINFIELD AP News July 21, 2022
Higher Overdose Death Rates Among Blacks, Native Americans Reflect Treatment Disparities, CDC Says
Disparities in access to treatment are driving up overdose rates among Black and Native American people as drug deaths reach record highs across the country, U.S. health officials said. Income inequality also tied to higher drug overdose death rates, study shows.
Julie Wernau The Wall Street Journal
July 19, 2022
Ketanji Brown Jackson Becomes First Black Female Supreme Court Justice
Justice Jackson, 51, was confirmed in April, when the Senate voted 53 to 47 on her nomination. She is replacing Justice Stephen G. Breyer, 83, who stepped down with the conclusion of the court’s current term.
Annie Karni The New York Times June 30, 2022
The Long Shadow of Eugenics in America. The New York Times June 8, 2022
As young girls, the Relf sisters were sterilized without consent. What does the government owe them — and the thousands of other living victims?
Biden Signs Bill to Make Lynching a Federal Crime
President Biden’s signature ended more than 100 years of failed efforts by the federal government to specifically outlaw lynching.
Michael D. Shear New York Times March 29, 2022
California panel OKs reparations limit for slave descendants
California’s first-in-the-nation task force on reparations has decided to limit state compensation to the descendants of free and enslaved Black people who were in the U.S. in the 19th century, narrowly rejecting a proposal to include all Black people regardless of lineage.
Janie Har The Associated Press 3/30/2022
Biden Picks Ketanji Brown Jackson for Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — President Biden on Friday said he would nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, elevating a well-regarded federal appeals court judge who, if confirmed, would make history by becoming the first Black woman to serve as a justice.
Katie Rogers The New York Times Feb. 25, 2022
White House Takes Aim at Environmental Racism, but Won’t Mention Race
Communities of color bear a disproportionate burden from pollution, research shows. But using race to allocate federal help could result in legal problems.
Lisa Friedman New York Times Feb. 15, 2022
How Black families, torn apart during slavery, worked to find one another again
The end of slavery gave the opportunity for African Americans to reconnect with family members displaced over generations.
Claretta Bellamy NBC News Feb.14, 2022
Illinois Homeowners Can Now Remove Racist Clauses From Their Property Deeds
With a new law, Illinois joins over a dozen states that have made it easier to remove racial restrictive covenants, which were used to bar people of certain races from buying homes.
Amanda Holpuch New York TImes Jan. 20, 2022

ACC’S NICOLE BELL NOMINATED FOR DEI AWARD

ACC’s interim manager of Staff Professional Development and Evaluations, Nicole Bell, has been nominated for a DivInc Champions of Change Award.

Bell is among six Austinites recognized with a People’s Choice Award nomination for their community engagement and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work. Nominees were chosen by a selection committee comprised of diverse and distinguished leaders and advocates in Austin.

Voting is now open for the People’s Choice Award and runs through Thursday, February 9, 2023.

The winner will be announced at the 5th Annual Champions of Change Awards on March 2 at Distribution Hall.

Vote HERE.

Learn more about Bell in her 2020 ACC Talks Black History Month interview.

National Day of Racial Healing 2022

From the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, watch this National Day of Racial Healing panel, featuring:

Rochelle Riley, director of Arts and Culture for the City of Detroit
David R. Williams, Harvard University professor
Rachel Godsil, co-founder of the Perception Institute
Quyen Dinh, executive director of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center

These distinguished panelists address how to counter racism’s effect on health and the importance of cultivating healthy, buffering environments for children and youth.

ACC President's Podcast

Building Equity: Putting Ideas Into Action
ACC President/CEO Dr. Richard M. Rhodes is joined by Geronimo Rodriguez, Chief Advocacy Officer for Seton Healthcare Family, and Clarence Watson, ACC Social Work student, to discuss racial healing, transformation, and how to build equitable learning outcomes.

Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation with Rep. Barbara Lee

About this podcast:
Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who has been representing California’s 13th district since 1999. She was the only person in Congress to vote against the expanded use of force authorization immediately after the 9/11 attacks and has been a constant force for peace in Congress since. She is working now to advance a Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Commission through Congress.

MOMENTUM: A Race Forward Podcast

MOMENTUM: A Race Forward Podcast
Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast features movement voices, stories, and strategies for racial justice. Co-hosts Chevon and Hiba give their unique takes on race and pop culture, and uplift narratives of hope, struggle, and joy, as we continue to build the momentum needed to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture. Build on your racial justice lens and get inspired to drive action by learning from organizational leaders and community activists.

Pod Save the People

Would It Change the World? (with Tishaura O. Jones)
Organizer and activist DeRay Mckesson explores news, culture, social justice, and politics with analysis from Sam Sinyangwe, Kaya Henderson, and De’Ara Balenger. Then he sits down for deep conversations with experts, influencers, and diverse local and national leaders. New episodes every Tuesday.
DeRay, Kaya, Sam, and De'Ara dive into the underreported news of the week, including academic racism, vaccine hunters, medical distribution issues, and replacing the police with healthcare workers. Netta Elzie gives an update on what's happening with the nationwide protests. DeRay sits down with Tishaura O. Jones, who is running for mayor of St. Louis.

Speak Up, Speak Out

Rihanna's acceptance speech for the NAACP's Presidential Award 02/22/2020.

ACC Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Center: News

NAME Statement on COVID-19